1. The Panthers defense is legit. Lead by middle linebacker Luke Kuechly, the Panthers went into San Francisco to defeat the 49ers 10-9. In a all out defensive battle, the Panthers was the last team standing. This looks like a scary team come playoff time. They have another challenge this Monday night when they take on the New England Patriots.

2. Nick Foles leads the Eagles into Lambeau Field to face the Aaron Rodgers less Packers. I have to say this team looks better with Foles at quarterback over Michael Vick as they defeated the Packers 27-13. Foles went 12-18 for 228 with three touchdowns. Foles has now thrown for 10 touchdowns the past two games with no interceptions. Lets see if Foles keeps up his hot streak this weekend against the Washington Redskins.

3. Whoever had the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Jacksonville Jaguars winning in the same week should try their look with the lottery this week. Both teams got their first wins of the season. They’re both now 1-8 on the season, and are in great shape to receive a top 5 pick in the 2014 NFL draft. It’s been a tough year for all professional football teams in the state of Florida.

4. The Arizona Cardinals are looking like playoff contenders. They defeated the Houston Texans 27-24 to move to 5-4 on the season. I’m a believer in their defense, but I need to see more from their offense. They will look to move to 6-4 this weekend when they take on the one game winning streak Jaguars.

5. I’m not sure if the Saints the best team in the NFL, but I do know they have the best offense in the NFL (besides the Broncos). They embarrassed the Dallas Cowboys by defeating them 49-17. I’m definitely looking forward to them taking on the Seattle Seahawks in a couple of weeks.

Week 9 is a wrap, and we have the 5 things we learned here at Swickass.

1. Last week in my 5 Things from Week 8 I called the Jets defeating the Saints, due to their odd and even season. The Jets have won all of their odd number games this year, and lost all of their even number games. And it continued Sunday as they defeated the New Orleans Saints 26-20. Geno Smith went 8-19 for 115 yards with no INTS, and the Jets running attack got going as Chris Ivory rushed for 139 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown against his former team. The Jets have a bye week this Sunday, but you can pencil them in to win next Sunday at Buffalo.

2. If you thought Peyton Manning was going to be the only QB this season to throw for seven touchdowns in a game you were wrong. As Nick Foles became the seventh quarterback in NFL to throw for seven tds in a game as the Eagles annihilated the Raiders 49-20. Foles had a crazy stat line as he went 22/28 for 406 yards to go with those 7 touchdowns and he had no INTS. Remember Foles had a great game against the Bucs earlier this year, and followed it up with a awful game against the Cowboys the following week. Lets hope Foles remains hot when the Eagles take on the Packers this weekend.

3. Don’t look now, but we had a CJ2k citing over the weekend as Chris Johnson exploded for 150 yards to go with two touchdowns on 23 carries. As the Titans defeated the Rams 28-21. CJ wasn’t the only running back that feasted on Sunday, as St. Louis Rams rookie sensation Zac Stacy rushed for 127 yards on 27carries to go with 2 touchdowns. Lets see if CJ keeps it up this week against Jacksonville.

4. Tom Brady looks like he got back into his groove as the Patriots defeated the Steelers 55-31. Brady 22-33 for 432 yards for 4 tds. Brady will only get better as the games get more meaningful.

5. Bears get a huge win on Monday night. In a game where the Bears weren’t favored to win by many experts. But they got the job done as they defeated the Packers 27-20. Aaron Rodgers left the game early in the 1st quarter with a shoulder injury. Then it turned into the backup bowl. As the Bears were already without starting QB Jay Cutler who’s nursing a groining injury. They got a big boost from backup QB Josh McCown and star running back Matt Forte. McCown went 22-41 for 272 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Forte rushed for 125 yards and scored one td. Aaron Rodgers found out later that he had fractured collarbone which is expected to sideline him for 4-6 weeks. Lets see if Seneca Wallace can carry the Packers for the next several weeks as Rodgers recovers. We hope Rodgers has a speedy recovery.

Another Football week has come and gone. I have the Five Things We Learned from Week 6.

1. That Kansas City Chiefs defense is legit. I wasn’t too sure if I should believe the Chiefs hype, but I’m a true believer of their defense. Chiefs defense continued their dominance Sunday as they defeated the Raiders 24-7 to reach 6-0 on the year. The Chiefs sacked Terrelle Pryor 10 times. If the Chiefs get some contribution from players on offense not named Jamaal Charles, they should be in great shape.

2. We have a QB controversy in Philadelphia. Due Michael Vick hamstring injury which he suffered in last weeks game against the Giants. Nick Foles got the start Sunday, and he didn’t disappoint. As he went 22-31 for 296 yards with 3 TDs, and the Eagles defeated the Bucs 31-20. Let’s see if Foles continues his hot play this Sunday against the Cowboys, and if he does who will be the QB in Philly once Vick is healthy?

3. The Texans lose 4 in a row. It’s shocking that this team lost 4 in a row, due to their high expectations coming into the season. But it’s even more shocking to see them get embarrassed at home like they did against the St. Louis Rams on Sunday by losing 38-13. To make matters worse, Schaub suffered a gruesome leg injury that Texans fans cheered about. I know it’s been a disappointing season for you Texans fans, but have some respect. I never like to see any athlete get injured. I wrote last week about staying with Schaub for the rest of the year, and then addressing the QB situation at the end of the year because I didn’t think TJ Yates or Case Keenum would make a difference. But due to the Schaubs injury Yates was forced into action, and he proved what I said last week was correct. Throwing two interceptions (one was taken back for a TD). There’s a dark cloud over Houston right now. I wish the Texans signed Matt Flynn, and let him be the starter while Schaub is out. That would be a great punishment for the fans that cheered for Schaubs injury on Sunday. But too bad the Bills signed him today.

4. Just because Tom Brady isn’t having the kind of year we’re accustomed to seeing, we can’t forget about how clutch the man is. But if you forgot, he reminded us on Sunday. As he lead the Patriots down the field in the closing seconds to defeat the New Orleans Saints 30-27. The Patriots are now 5-1 on the year, and look like the favorites to win the AFC East. Sorry to all the Patriot fans that left the game early, and didn’t witness Brady throw a TD with 5 seconds remaining to Kenbrell Thompkins.

5. Last but not least, I have to show some love to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Although they didn’t win, they didn’t allow the Broncos to cover the 27 pts they were given in Las Vegas betting lines. Instead the Broncos pulled away late to defeat the Jaguars 35-19. This will probably be my first, and last post about the Jaguars all year. So I had to make sure I made it a good one! And if you’re keeping score at home the Jaguars are 0-6. While the Broncos are 6-0.

Week 5 has wrapped up, and we have the Five Things We Learned From This Week.

1. Terrelle Pryor is here to stay. Pryor has showed major improvement from week to week. In week 4 Pryor was forced to sit out due to a concussion he suffered during the week 3 loss to the Broncos. But Pryor bounced back and looked great in his first game since week 3 getting the Raiders off to a quick 14-0 lead,and never looking back defeating the Chargers 27-14. Pryor went 18-23 for 221yds and 2tds. Raiders may have found their Franchise QB.

2. Geno Smith looks like he’s getting accustomed to the NFL by upsetting the highly favored Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. Geno went 16-20 for 199yds and 3tds. Jets were down 28-27 and Geno led the Jets down the field to setup a Nick Folks 43yd field goal in the game final seconds to defeat the Falcons 30-28. Looks like that 4th and 1 play the Falcons went for with 1sec left before halftime came back to hunt them after all. One positive thing from Geno is he had no turnovers this game for the first time this year. The Falcons now fall to a disappointing 1-4. Note to NFC South teams, don’t win the NFC South because when you do the following year you struggle.

3. Texans need a new QB. The Houston Texans were embarrassed on Sunday Night Football against the San Francisco 49ers losing 34-3. Matt Schaub has been turnover prone early on in the year as it continued Sunday night as the Texans QB has had four interceptions returned for TDs over the last four games. I wouldn’t say bench Schaub now because I don’t believe T.J. Yate or Chase Keenum will make a difference, but I believe the Texans should look elsewhere for QB help when the offseason comes around. By the way where are all those Schaub supporters from 3 years ago when you guys had him ranked in the top 10 for your QB rankings?

4. The Colts are for real. Colts defeated the Seahawks Sunday 34-28. I’m not sure if many people gave the Colts a chance but they were ready to face the undefeated Seahawks. Luck lead the Colts to two 4th qtr scores and showed the NFL there’s a way to score on the Seahawks as he hit T.Y Hilton for two big passing tds. One pass went for 73 yards, and the other went for 29 yards. The Seahawks are just not the same on the road as they are when they’re at home. Colts have now defeated the Seahawks and 49ers in the same season. Not too many teams can say that in the NFL.

5. What a difference Sean Payton makes. The Saints moved to 5-0 on the season as they defeated the Chicago Bears 26-18. The Saints look like they’re back after missing their head coach all last year who was suspended due to the Bountygate. With Brees having Payton back running this offense the sky is the limit for this team. The NFC South looks like it’s theirs for the taking.